A Day On The River

I had not planned on writing about this, but the experience was such an adrenaline rush for everyone in our boat, I had too. A few months ago Lisa suggested that we go white water rafting. Our daughter Alexa is only eight and I was not too excited about the idea. Very soon after that discussion our friend Teresa had setup a day trip over 4th of July weekend. To make a long story short, we ended up with Teresa, her son Cody, Lisa, Alexa and me in a raft with our guide. At the beginning of a rapid called “Satan’s Cesspool” our guide told us, “This is the only place today that you don’t want to fall out of the raft”. A few seconds later everyone except Cody was in the water (including the guide) and we all got to swim a class III+ rapid. According to our guide, Alexa is now the youngest person to ever do that. All in all it was a great day, which we all will remember for a long time. If you are interested in going on one of these adventures contact ARTA (http://www.arta.org/) they are a non-profit group dedicated to preserving the wilderness for future generations and providing a safe, exciting white water rafting experience.

Balsamic Strawberries

My sister in law, Laurie gets the credit for this one. She worked very hard to reverse engineer the key ingredients and technique to one of my favorite deserts. It is served at one of our favorite places “Piatti” in Danville. On the menu it is known as “Balsamico Gelato”. It’s a scoop of coffee ice cream topped with Balsamic Strawberries. At first this sounds wrong, but it is a great summer time desert.

The key here is taking your time, and starting out light on the vinegar and adjusting it over time.

3 1/2 cups sliced hulled strawberries (about 16 ounces) 1/4 cup sugar1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Toss all ingredients in glass bowl. Let stand at room temperature until juices form, about an hour then refrigerate. During the hour you may need to adjust the amount of vinegar so that the berries are just tart.

A few minutes before serving add a few twists of the pepper mill and stir. Serve over Hagan Das Coffee Ice Cream.

Flowers, 2003 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

This wine is very dark and has an intense aroma. Sadly the taste doesn’t match this intensity, you do get plenty of flavor, cherry and currant dominate. I was expecting, actually hoping for something like the 2002, which had a very explosive flavor. This wine is also very soft at this point in its life. The winery suggests that you can cellar it for up to 3 years, but I would drink it now.

Flowers, 2003 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

I really liked the 2002, so I bought this wine blind. Good guess on my part. It has a very strong citrus aroma. The flavor is intense and complex, vanilla, honey, and green apple. The texture reminds me of the Rombauer (http://www.rombauer.com/) butter bombs of years past. The winery notes say “lively acidity” but I don’t get that at all. This is a perfectly balanced wine, that has been heavily oak’d. It is great now, and should improve over the next year.

Flowers, 2002 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

The experience starts with the color, pale gold. It clings to the side of the glass as you pour it. I know legs are no indicator of good wine, but it is pretty to watch. Has a very intense vanilla bean aroma. In your mouth an array of flavors present very light citrus, vanilla, butter, with a moderately long mineral finish. The texture is slightly oily and heavy in your mouth. We have had several bottles of this wine over the last year, and it keeps getting better. The winery recommends drinking before summer 2006, no problem. Serve "very lightly" chilled, if this wine is too cold you will get a bitter taste.